Thursday saw the sweeping of the broom at Crystal Palace, as the new management team of George Burley and Dougie Freedman was announced.

We also saw the first ever public appearance of CPFC2010 consortium directors Martin Long and Steve Parish, after they effectively saved the club from liquidation.

Nothing at Palace is ever straightforward, but Thursday, June 17, can surely go down as one of the better days in the club's history, as both new manager Burley and the club hierarchy put on impressive performances. With the slick appearance and flowing blond hair of the charismatic Parish, observers at Selhurst Park could be forgiven for thinking Simon Jordan had returned for one last crack at the spotlight, but those thoughts were quicky dispelled as the new man made all the right noises. Like Jordan and Mark Goldberg before him, Parish is a lifelong Palace fan but, unlike that pair, made it crystal clear the club would not chase the dream with irresponsible spending, as 'youth' becomes the buzz word at Selhurst.

To the ex-chairman's credit, the club has been left with a top-class academy and there are not many better at blooding young talent than new boss Burley.

The Scot has brought through Kieron Dyer and Darren Ambrose at Ipswich, Tom Huddlestone at Derby, and Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale at Southampton, and that must have played a part in the consortium's appointment process.

Burley's record holds up to scrutiny too, with five Championship play-off appearances and a Premier League manager of the year award under his belt, undoubtedly overshadowing his tenure as Scotland boss.

However, the stated ambition of another top-six finish for Burley this year is wildly optimistic, especially as Burley only has 10 senior professionals and a threadbare training staff to work with, something he has to remedy quickly.

Even if Palace can keep hold of players like Darren Ambrose and Nathaniel Clyne, then a top 10 finish would be a real achievement given the trials and tribulations of 2009-10. Ambrose's value must have sky-rocketed since a £750,000 move to QPR looked on last month, and one of the board's first priorities must be to reject the inevitable advances of Neil Warnock.

It's a unique dilemma for Ambrose, as he weighs up the merits of either playing for Palace under the man that gave him his breakthrough in Suffolk, or joining up with the boss who has turned his career around in the last year. One of the more surprising off-field stories to come from the press conference yesterday was the admission from Parish that in an “ideal world” the club would move away from Selhurst Park, to a new purpose built stadium.

The main stand is on its last legs, and Parish rightly insists that paying customers should have comfortable surroundings, but it would be a shame for Palace to lose such a big part of their identity with a move to yet another identikit ground.

With a gradual rebuild of both touchline stands allowing games to still take place, Palace could rival London's most impressive stadia while retaining the history and location so important to fans. Whatever the outcome of that particular saga, Palace fans ultimately have to be delighted they have a team to watch at all, whether it's at a plush new Selhurst Park or a dingy New Den groundshare.

Doubts remain over the experience of the new board, as only long-standing chief executive Phil Alexander has a football administration background.

However, it's safe to assume that Parish and Long, as well as benefactors Stephen Browett and Jeremy Hoskins, have gone a long way to securing the future of the rollercoaster ride that is Crystal Palace FC. Now for the next 105 years.